July 26

Our Security

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. — John 6:39 BSB

There is no uncertainty in the Christian’s hope. Not a single link is missing in the chain that binds the believer to eternal blessing. Every step from the depths of sin to the heights of glory is secure. "Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son ... and whom He predestined, He also called; and whom He called, He also justified; and whom He justified, He also glorified." These are the steps of the Christian’s hope as Paul described them. In today’s text, we see the same steps from the perspective of Christ.

The promise is that Christ will never lose any soul that entrusts itself to Him for salvation. "But Christians die, just like everyone else," someone might say. Yes, but they are not lost; their spirits go immediately to glory with Christ, and their bodies rest in the grave until the resurrection. An old Christian sailor expressed it well. When asked if he was afraid during storms, he replied that the Bible says God holds the waters "in the hollow of His hand." Even if the ship were wrecked and he fell into the sea, he said he would simply drop into his Father’s hand. That is what death is like for a Christian, no matter how or where it happens: the soul is placed into God’s hands.

The grave may seem dark, but Christ promises that none of His own will be lost or left behind. No matter where we die or where our bodies are laid, we have the assurance from Christ—an assurance we can accept in simple faith without doubt—that He "will lose nothing but will raise it up on the last day."